Kenya’s inflation rate has risen to 6.9 pc in October from 6.8 pc registered in September.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics is attributing this to the rise in the prices of commodities in the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose(COICOP).
In its release, the KNBS says that the inflation rate that is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), indicates that food and non-alcoholic beverages index increased by 7.8pc between October last year and October this year.
“This food inflation is mainly attributed to the increase in prices of some food items, which outweigh the decrease in prices of other foodstuffs,” says the statement signed by KNBS Director General Dr. Macdonald Obudho. The prices of foodstuffs including; potatoes, tomatoes, oranges, carrots, beef and kale(Sukuma wiki) rose by between 9.6 pc and 2.4 percent while the prices of wheat flour and maize flour dropped by between 0.8pc and 4.1pc.
He notes that the CPI and Inflation which is generated from data collected through monthly surveys of retail prices that target a representative basket of household consumption goods and services, indicates that, the transport index increased by 13.6 pc mainly attributed to a rise in prices of petrol and diesel.
Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other fuels index increased by 7.8pc while furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance index increased by 3.6 pct, “mainly due to the increase in prices of gas, electricity, and kerosene.”
